Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-16
SOME RIVER R0MANCES.
"REMINISCENCES OF THE GloRiEs
OF MISSISSIPPI STEAMBOATS,.


st. Louis and Her Departed Commercial
supremacy-The Shifting Sands Of the
Mighty Father of the waters-steam-
Especial Correspondence
ST. LOUIS, NO., Mays.
The curious pranks Of the great river that
sweeps past this city have always been viewed
with suspicion and alarm by the government
engineers and municipal authorities. When
st. Louis was a small town the river made a
bold and almost successful attempt to cut
new channel three miles east Of its present
course. The effect of this would have been to
leave the city "high and dry" and it is to the
active intelligence and engineering skill of
Lieut.. R. E. Lee that the city owes its present
harbor.
The Mississippi forms a semi-circle about
st. Louis, and the territory thus inclosed has
water frontage of fourteen miles. The
levee extends from Carondelet on the south
to the water works on the north, along the
entire water front Of the city. Only about
five miles of it is improved, and this portion
is directly In front Of the business part of the
city. The site Of st. Louis was originally
succession of natural terraces, reaching back
two miles from the river. Then the ground
sloped downward and was cut up by deep ra-
vines and covered with numerous ponds The
river front in the vicinity Of the present bridge
was originally high bluff, and the early in
habitants had nothing to fear from high
water. This bluff has been cut down for
miles and its base transformed into levee.
The street directly facing the water was
called Front street, but now, since
its glory has departed, it is known
as the Levee. The improved portion of the
st. Louis levee is an inclined plane, paved
with stone, extending from the street level to
the water. The distance from the apex to
the water depends On the mood of the river
The plane is paved fully 800 feet, and the
water is in very low stage when the bed be-
low the paving is exposed. As stated, this in
clined plane extends for nearly five miles in
front of the business portion and the i'm
provements cost 100000.
It is on this levee that the remnant Of the
great river business that made the city is now
transacted. River traffic has dwindled to
about 10 per cent of its ante bellum volume.
The gold and glory in steamboating has van
ished, and now old river men spend most of
| their time describing the Augustan age of
the steamboat on western waters, the period
from 1916 to 1860 90
The first steamboat that arrived in st.
Louis was the Zebulen M. Pike, in 1917. In
1S4S the river trade had grown to such huge
proportions that 3,46S boats arrived in the
harbor. In 1859 more steamboats, arrived in
st. Louis than in New Orleans, Cincinnati
and Pittsburg combined, The Missouri river
trade was then an item Of vast importance,
and there were half a dozen well equipped
lines on that river. To-day there is one line,
RailrOaAc Ei1Iad fba I'd,
| building up the western cities almost throttled
the trade Of St Louis.
The Missouri bank Of the Mississippi, al.
most the entire length of the state, is one
chain of bluffs. The Illinois side, from AL
ton to Cairo, is fiat and low, and between
these two towns lies the famous American
bottom. The bottoms vary from three to
six miles In width, from the low bank of the
river to the eastern bluffs, and are 200 miles
long, containing 5000, 900 acres of the most
fertile soil in the world The river, especially
in the vicinity of St. Louis, is inclined to
sweep over these acres, and to protect them
great dikes and leyees have been constructed
on the eastern bank. Directly in front of
this city was once a famous island, called
"Bloody Island" on account of the many
fatal duels fought there. 1t was there Sena-
tor Thomas II. Benton killed Charles
D. Lucas, and ex Governor Thomas Rey-
nolds, who recently committed suicide,
shot b. Gratz Brown. This island was
in the center Of the river, and as the current
flowed toward the Illinois side the people of
the city arose one morning in 1887 and found
sand bar extending from the Missouri side
to the island, and almost the whole volume
of water flowing between Bloody Island
and Illinois. The government was appealed
to, and Lieut.. Robert E. Lee was sent out
here in charge of the works. He constructed
bikes on the Illinois shore and at the head of
Bloody Island" and gradually turned the
water back toward the st. Louis side until
the sand bar was washed away, and after
ward the entire river was thrown over
against this city. "Bloody Island" is now a
portion of the main land, and the greatest
part of East st. Louis is located on it.
Baked at this point the river cut into Illinois
below the city. In 1856 Fort Charities was
one mile and a quarter directly east from the
river bank. To day the river runs over the
spot where the old fort stood.
The largest dixie in this vicinity is the Madi.
son county, His, dixie, which extends from
point opposite the mouth of the Missouri to
East st. Louis This varies from twenty to
thirty feet in height and about the same in
width. ltprotects the lands from any ordi-
nary rise in the river, but there is nothing
that can protect them from an extraordinary
rise. The Madison county dixie broke in 1882
and in one night an avalanche of water
ten feet i'll height swept over the
American bottom for 100 miles, DESTROYING
stock, crops and human life. The earliest
authentic account of a flood is found In an
old document in kaskaskia, the oldest settle
ment in the state, and situated on the ''bot-
toms" This flood occurred in 1924 and the
water extended to the bluffs. In l7S5 a ter
rife food occurred and the mighty stream
spread over wilderness six miles wide and
tenanted only by wild beasts and few In
dians and settlers. The year was known t.
the French Inhabitants as "L'annee DIES
grandes eaux."
In 1874 the river rose forty feet above low
water mark and inundated the entire Ameri.
can bottom. Houses, fences and crops wer.
all swept away. Levees were destroyed anu
warehouses on the banks collapsed
The peculiar action Of the river was illus
trated about twenty years ago in a remark
able manner Opposite the southern por
ton of the city was spot of dry land in
the stream called Arsenal Island 1t was
beautiful spot, and a syndicate purchased ii |
fh<, f.if ot